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Democratic Party presidential nominee Lee Jae-myung adjusts his mask while attending an event at the party’s headquarters in Seoul’s Yeouido on Thursday. (pool photo)

On Thursday, Lee Jae-myung, presidential candidate for the Democratic Party, admitted that his son had engaged in illegal gambling, and issued an immediate apology. But ongoing allegations about visiting a massage parlor for sex are making party members nervous about the potential fallout if the claims about Lee’s 29-year-old son blow up.

“It’s true that my son signed up for a card game website and wrote posts on the website as reported in the press. My son appears to have fallen into temptation for some time,” Lee said in a statement released on Thursday morning.

“As a father, I humbly apologize along with my son to those who have been disappointed by his impropriety. As a parent, I haven’t been perfect in the way I’ve raised my children.”

“I’ll ensure that this sort of thing doesn’t happen again, and I’ll also see to it that [my son] gets treatment,” Lee added.

Lee owned up to the gambling allegations immediately after they were raised by the Chosun Ilbo, which reported that a figure presumed to be Lee’s son had made more than 200 posts on an online poker community between January 2019 and July 2020.

The Democratic Party’s election committee confirmed that Lee’s son had also gambled on another online community until recently.

“If this is grounds for a criminal prosecution, there’s obviously no choice but for us to take responsibility. I think a person who seeks to take charge of the destiny of a nation must submit to endless vetting from the public, even if that has unfortunate consequences for the family,” Lee said in an online interview with several newspapers on Thursday morning.

“I’m sincerely sorry to those who have been hurt and disappointed by my inappropriate behavior. I will take responsibility for my actions and spend time atoning for them,” Lee’s son said that afternoon in a statement via the Democratic Party’s election committee.

But about two hours later, the media reported that Lee’s son had posted a review of visiting a massage parlor in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, to the same online poker community.

“While it’s true that Lee wrote the post, he told members of the election committee that he hadn’t bought sex,” said Kwon Hyeok-ki, head of the public relations team at the Democratic Party’s election committee.

When asked if Lee’s son had gone to the massage parlor, Kwon repeated his denial of any transaction for sex.

“The position of Lee Jae-myung and his son is that they will take full responsibility for everything, including this post,” Kwon said, referring to the review of the massage parlor.

There appear to be concerns inside the Democratic Party about the potential for fallout from this incident.

“Since Lee posted quite a lot online, we’re assuming that similar reports will keep coming out,” one member of the election committee said.

“We have to take our licking, submit to any investigation that’s launched, and face whatever punishments are given,” said another senior member of the committee.

Lee’s son has admitted to gambling, which is usually illegal in Korea, and Kang Yong-suk, an attorney who runs the YouTube channel Garo Sero Institute, filed a criminal complaint to the police on Thursday. That makes it likely that an investigation will start soon.

“Habitual illegal gambling has been clearly demonstrated. That should lead to a thorough investigation,” said Lee Yang-soo, senior spokesperson for the People Power Party’s election committee, in a statement.

“The two major parties have no vision for the spirit of the times and no policy for the public livelihood, and the news is being plastered with illegal behavior by their candidates and those candidates’ family members,” said Kim Chang-in, spokesperson for the Justice Party’s election committee.

“This is becoming the election of dysfunctional families,” Kim added, pointing to the “family risk” that’s affecting both Lee Jae-myung and Yoon Seok-youl, candidate for the People Power party.

By Choi Ha-yan and Song Chae Kyung-hwa, staff reporters

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